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Posts Tagged ‘pain’

The younger version of me was very much into hard rock, alt-rock, and metal. The types of amps and guitars I used all went to 11 and stayed there. As I got older, I branched off into other directions. In my mid-20s, I ditched electric altogether and played acoustic for 4 or 5 years, only to return to it with a Big Muff. In my early-30s I explored more classic rock, but with modern tones. Now, in my late-30s, I’ve gone from being an acrobatic, outside soloing, masturbator to being limited in my playing and learning about economy of notes and action. (more…)

I previously wrote about my trials of playing guitar while dealing with a serious illness. With my 25.5″ scale length, LTD guitar, I’ve now found a medium point of balance. When I am able to play, the guitar nearly plays itself.

After more than a decade of doing my own setups, I’d stopped measuring them and would do it mostly by feel. I did it that way for years. For the problems I have now, I need to be able to easily adjust anything if the guitar shifts from temperature or humidity changes.

At the time of the previous article, I had been thinking in very abstract terms regarding tension and height; trying to imagine the physics at work. What I’ve ultimately found is that I’d made the height so low and relief so flat, the neck did begin to backbow and warp. I corrected the truss rod, increased the tuning, and set the guitar aside to settle in. When I came back to it, it got a setup similar to the factory specs and then some adjustments were made. (more…)

I am very ill. In January of 2014, I began having pain in my shoulder. By the next week, both shoulders, my wrists and hands were affected, more significantly on the right side. By the end of February, I couldn’t walk very well and I felt very sick. Since that time, I have had periods of being restricted to bed, short periods of relative wellness, and situations in between, but the pain and arthritis continue. I was diagnosed with Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis and chronic pain (Edit June 2016: this was misdiagnosed Lupus). Among the things it affected was my ability to play music. (more…)